This is the first volume of a two-volume set of critical reviews of many aspects of both asphaltenes and asphalts and their interrelationship. Asphaltene is invariably present in asphalt or bitumen and other fossil fuel-derived liquids such as coal tar, coal liquefaction products, pyrolyzed shale oil from oil shales, source rock extracts and numerous naturally occurring bituminous substances. The latter include asphaltites, asphaltoids, waxes, and carbonaceous deposits containing a composition of petroleum and coal.The contents cover not only the basic science of asphaltene but also deal with the applications and technology such as upstreams (production, recovery) and down streams (refining, upgrading) of petroleum, and the paving technology and formulation preparation. The main features of the book are: it provides an up-to-date, in-depth review of every aspect of asphaltenes and asphalts; it spans five decades of research and technology of heavy fractions of petroleum; it presents a global view of asphaltene related to exploration production, refining and upgrading.The book will be welcomed as a valuable reference source for petroleum companies, research institutes, refineries, universities and also by individuals dealing with the production, origin, formation, engineering, conversion and catalysis of heavy oil, tar sands and other bitumens materials.

This is the second volume in the series of Asphaltenes and Asphalts. Since the publication of the first volume in 1994, there has been a significant advancement in our knowledge. Knowledge of both asphaltenes and asphalts is needed by several disciplines, and often the progress is dictated by interdisciplinary sciences and technology. This includes material sciences, fuel sciences, chemical engineering, civil engineering, environmental engineering, polymer sciences, transportation engineering, petroleum engineering, chemistry, geological sciences, physics, geochemistry rheology, biological sciences, tribology, soil sciences, petroleum science. The development in this field is not based on our knowledge of chemistry or petroleum engineering alone, as many chemists and petroleum engineers believe. In this volume, therefore, significant contributions from different disciplines have been included.

Asphaltenes have traditionally been viewed as being extremely complex, thus very hard to characterize. In addition, certain fundamental properties of asphaltenes have pre viously been inaccessible to study by traditional macroscopic methods, further limiting understanding of asphaltenes. These limitations inhibited development of descriptions regarding the microscopic structure and solution dynamics of asphaltenes. However, a variety ofmore recent studies have implied that asphaltenes share many chemical properties with the smaller, more tractable components of crude oils. Recent measurements have indicated that asphaltene molecular weights are not as !arge as previously thought, perhaps in the range of 600 to I 000 amu. In addition, new experimental methods applied to asphaltene chemical structures have been quite revealing, yielding a broad understanding. Conse quently, the ability to relate chemical structure with physical and chemical properties can be developed and extended to the understanding of important commercial properties of asphal tenes. This book treats significant new developments in the fundamentals and applications of asphaltenes. In the first section ofthe book, new experimental methods are described that characterize asphaltene structures from the molecular to colloidallength scale. The colloidal properties are understandable in terms of asphaltene chemical structures, especially with regard to the heteroatom impact on bonding. However, quantitative measurements of the of asphaltene self-association still need to be determined. In the second section of enthalpy this book, the fundamental understanding of asphaltenes is related riirectly to asphaltene utilization.

The investigative assault upon the enigmatic asphaltenes has recently resulted in sig nificant advances in many varied disciplines. Taken individually, each discipline exposes certain facets of asphaltenes, but each, alone, can never reveal asphaltenes from all van tages. Even seemingly narrowly focused issues such as the molecular structures of asphal tenes, or the colloidal structures of asphaltenes require a confluence of many lines of investigation to yield an understanding which differs from truth by diminishing uncer tainty. An holistic treatment of the asphaltenes is a powerful approach to evolve further their understanding. For example, examination of asphaltenes at the highest resolution yields molecular structure. A slight increase in scale probes asphaltene colloidal structure. Weaving together asphaltene studies performed at different length scales results in a fabric which envelops an encompassing vision of asphaltenes. At the same time, the interfaces of these hierarchical studies provide additional constraints on imagination, more than investi gations at individual length scales alone. These considerations shaped the timing, format, and the content of our book. The editors are very appreciative of the diligence and hard work manifest in each of the contributed chapters herein. We thank the contributing authors for making this project a success. Oliver C. Mullins Eric Y. Sheu vii CONTENTS I. Asphaltenes: Types and Sources ...................................... .